Played @ the ol Jai Alai...Makes me proud that the Dead played such awesome shows in South Florida, being a Miami native resident and all...Dave Lemieux should maybe look at releasing this officially somehow...

This show is a very nice find. The reviews here are mixed. For all the hype given to the wall of sound and 1974, clearly it has to do with a live experience because the recordings, while crisp in most cases (this one is B quality with minor hiss) don't really add up to being a very strong show to listen to. Many '74 shows are like this. The mix IS overly drummy and the vocals ARE low and it IS annoying. Again, there are exceptions...this show is a nice find- greatest story rips and jerry goes into a quassi playin jam and the eyes wharfrat is a hypnotic and melodic jamfest- we get our first taste of slipknot here n the middle of eyes as well. 1974 is not a great year. Jerry was touring heavily with Merl and JGB and Bob was acticve in Ace/bobby and midnights like projects and the hiatus was imminent. But the previous reviewer is WRONG in sooo many ways yet has some validity to his criticism. The promised land opener sound like garbage...the recording doesnt get good until mid Bertha. This is a very well played show and Jerry is high in the mix- Scarlet is a jamfest but again- too short. It was not until late september and October of this year that Scarlet really developed. Great show great band- heart of gold band! Oh and a truly blessed evrsion of ship of fools!

tree-ap this show sounds GREAT to my ears! not the most precise playing of '74, to be sure, but there is some real nice stuff here.

Eyes>Wharf rat is fantastically jammed and features a unique transition, the China>Rider is likely one of the best ever, and many of the 'first set' songs are played with a lot of conviction...just listen to phil on GSET!

this one is worthy of more attention !

1.Promised Land---Billy is high in the mix, Keith seems a litle low. Nothing special here, but then this was always sort of a soundcheck kinda song anyway.
2.Bertha---Jerry's voice isn't very loud, but his guitar is. Listening closer---no ones voice is all that loud. Played with a fire under their ass though.
3.Greatest Story Ever Told---more voice issues to my ears, & Jerry's Wolf is high in the mix. Not a great performance.
4.Deal---Wolf still high in mix. The song doesn't seem to be coming together completely.
5.Me & Bobby Mcgee---still nothing special, but played as well as it's ever played.
6.Scarlet Begonias---well...it's disappointing overall.
7.Jack Straw---a little redemption here, as it's a good '74 Jack Straw.
8.Loose Lucy---more redemption.
9.Mexicali Blues---it's Mexicali Blues, what else is there to say? Not great, but not bad.
10.Sugaree---another redeeming song.
11.The Race Is On---like Mexicali, I don't think there ever were any "bad" versions.
12.Must've Been The Roses---again, nothing special...see a patern here?
13.Playin' In The Band---PITB in '74 was pretty spectacular. While this is good, other versions are much better. I'm NOT disappointed though. This performance stands on it's own.
14 & 15.China/Rider---I always considered this as ONE song, but... This is a nice '74 groove. It also has the Feelin' Groovy Jam.
16.Me & My Uncle---another song that was always...just "good".
17.Ship Of Fools---nothing bad to say here. It's Ship Of Fools in '74.
18.El Paso---Bob's voice is a tad low, but the music is pretty good. We're still following the same path as far as this shows performance quality goes.
19.Eyes of the World---something's missing from this version...cohesiveness maybe? Everyone seems to NOT be on the same page in places. Even Phil's jam after the verses is a little off. It's almost sad...
20.Wharf Rat---this seems to start out quite nicely actually. I believe this is some more redemption. This segues nicely into...
21.Sugar Magnolia---BUT, still doesn't quite make it to a balls-out rockin' version.
22. Johnny B. Goode---I guess it rocked...

This was certainly not the greatest show of '74. I guess it's worth streaming while doing housework. This is the first show I've ever given only 2 Stars to---these are 1974 Stars though.

Promised Land: nothing special
Bertha: drums seem to be trying to figure out where the beat is as it starts.. a little sloppy, but nice anyhow
Greatest Story: Jerry does a cool thing in his solo that is atypical... he does one of those super fast repeated notes (same note), and it gives the solo an interesting quality
Deal: slower than usual. not morning dew slow though
Bobby McGee: slow. uninspired to my ears. but as I listen to it now They get a little more into it. donna is right in the mix on this one folks
Scarlet begonies: nice classic version
Jack Straw: a fairly gentle version

At this point I'm at work and got distracted.... so thats the whole review for now. Hehhe, only half a set. Sorry its so short.

It was an uneven show but it was my first dead show, so I can't be too objective. I was blown away at the time and I still like it now. Glad I found it after all these years. Still sounds good even with so much more to compare to it now over the years.

I'm surprised no one has written this one up yet. The sound quality is quite good, and the performances, well...that's a good question. Garcia almost sounds as if he's trying to reinvent himself on some of these tracks. Virtually every song has something peculiar about it. Blown lyrics, miscues, you name it. In spite of all that, I find alot to like about this show. A nice Bobby McGee, good vintage Scarlet, one of the better "album version" Loose Lucy's, although they get out of it by the skin of their teeth. And check out Phil's thunderous beginning to the 28:30 min. PITB! Donna. Oh, what's the point? Just beware. Second set is pretty good, culminating with an Eyes > Wharf Rat > S. Mag. They don't stumble coming out of Eyes as they sometimes do, but listen to the jam that follows. It's Dark Starish for a bit before going into Wharf Rat, and that too has a different feel. No, I'm not stoned, check this stuff out. Before JBG, Phil thanks the crowd, and adds "If you only knew". For myself, I'm assuming he's referring to the bumpy night. Who knows? I'll cherry-pick enough to fit on 2 CD's. Hard to rate this one. 3 and 7/8ths, but I'll give it 4 to call some attention to it.